Poll

RE thinks about a twin - what should it look like?

In-line Twin
30 (71.4%)
V-Twin
10 (23.8%)
I only like Bullets
2 (4.8%)

Total Members Voted: 42

Voting closed: February 06, 2011, 07:27:43 pm

Author Topic: RE BIG BIKE  (Read 9153 times)

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Ducati Scotty

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Reply #15 on: January 31, 2011, 02:16:40 am
And then a V Star rumbled past,,,,,,,

I owned a V-star 650 Classic.  It was great on gas, ran flawlessly all day long, low maintenance with shaft drive, and looked like a bike twice as big as it really was.  I liked it so much I've actually thought about buying one again several times.  The only thing I didn't like is that the pegs are so far forward you're always getting a draft up your pants.  I guess style trumps function in the cruiser market.

Gorilla, I don't think the V-twin market is nearly played out in the US.  As evidence I offer the fact that HD is still around selling hugely expensive bikes even in this economy, as are all it's imitators foreign and domestic.

Scott


ace.cafe

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Reply #16 on: January 31, 2011, 02:25:25 am
I can't decide, because I like both types.

However, the V-Twin thing is far from "played out".
The V-Twin in a wider vee than Harley can be extremely good for inherent engine balance. Much better than any parallel twin.
The vertical twin has all balancing forces in the primary plane. The wider V-Twins address the secondary plane issues much better.
The Ducati 90-degree V-Twin design is an excellent example of this.

From a pure engine design view, the V-Twin can be better than the parallel twin can be.
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robbw

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Reply #17 on: January 31, 2011, 02:59:32 am
I prefer the parallel myself, but I would have to agree with Scotty in terms of competition with Harley.  They may do better with the v-twin.  However, there is always the possibility that an aggressive and strategic marketing campaing could change the wind in the opposite direction. 
Take JetBlue for instance.  In April of 2009 they offered an "All  You Can Fly Ticket" for $599.  The ad only ran for a few days and only a certain number of tickets were available.  The ticket allowed you to fly as often as you wanted for an entire month.  Yes, they lost some money on this deal, but the brand recognition paid off in the end.  Almost every major and minor news agency in America reported on this.  JetBlue garnered a lot of new customers as a result of this campaign.  I personally think it is brilliant and certainly something that other companies could and should get inspired by. It would be easy to imagine possibilities. Let’s say Microsoft offered the Zune with unlimited life downloads of music for a few days. It might lose some money on all of those sales but the return in branding could be even better.  It's all about consumer psychology, lol.  :D :D


r80rt

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Reply #18 on: January 31, 2011, 03:04:32 am
I had a 04 V star 650 classic with running boards instead of pegs, I loved that bike.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2011, 03:06:58 am by r80rt »
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Ducati Scotty

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Reply #19 on: January 31, 2011, 03:17:37 am
Mine was a year or two earlier when they still had pegs on the Classic.  Yeah, nice bike.  When I went to sell it I talked with a buyer who did trade ins all over SoCal.  He told me what he could pay and knew I wouldn't take it.  He said it was an awesome bike but they just didn't sell many for some reason he couldn't really figure out.

Scott


gashousegorilla

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Reply #20 on: January 31, 2011, 03:25:55 am


Gorilla, I don't think the V-twin market is nearly played out in the US.  As evidence I offer the fact that HD is still around selling hugely expensive bikes even in this economy, as are all it's imitators foreign and domestic.

Scott

Well, that wasn't me that wrote that, but i think the point was that enough is enough with the V-twins already. With Harley and all the the other manufacturers trying to out Harley, Harley. And some pretty good at it. Yes, a quite successfull line to imitate, but not what it was a few years ago.
 I would be a little concerned if RE were to come out with a V-twin and it were to be viewed as "just another Harley copy". No matter how good the design, or how far from the truth a statement like that would be.I say we keep the bike different, that may not be the best way to go marketing wise,Or engineering wise, but i think that's why most of us bought an Enfield.
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prof_stack

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Reply #21 on: January 31, 2011, 03:33:07 am
Perhaps Enfield could make a 90 degree v-twin and turn the motor sideways so the air cooling is more efficient.  Put a shaft drive on it to take advantage of the crankshaft direction.  They could out-Guzzi Moto Guzzi!   ;D
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robbw

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Reply #22 on: January 31, 2011, 03:47:31 am
I say we keep the bike different, that may not be the best way to go marketing wise,Or engineering wise, but i think that's why most of us bought an Enfield.
Yes. This is what I'm saying.  Keep the bike DIFFERENT, but throw a good marketing campaign behind it to show that there are other options out there beside the typical HD's.  A lot of avid riders don't even know what an RE is. 


singhg5

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Reply #23 on: January 31, 2011, 04:16:04 am
I want to see a parallel twin.  Way too many V-twins, look alikes. 
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Bullet Bill

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Reply #24 on: January 31, 2011, 04:34:13 am
I'd like a parallel twin too, but the Enfield might have some serious, cheaper competition in that category in the European market.  Kawasaki's releasing the w800, and while the Triumph Bonneville series is declining in quality in recent years, it's still much better known than RE.
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Ducati Scotty

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Reply #25 on: January 31, 2011, 04:50:42 am
Well, that wasn't me that wrote that...

Oops!  I've had a few cocktails today ;)

I think the key to a successful twin of any variety in the international market for RE is better quality control and good pricing.  I'm sure the RE will have more retro styling than anything else out there and that's the hook that will bring people in.  There's nothing out there like an RE.  I still wonder why Kawasaki stopped selling the W650 and the Drifter in the US.  Those bikes were both awesome!

Scott
« Last Edit: January 31, 2011, 04:56:05 am by Ducati Scotty »


Andy

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Reply #26 on: January 31, 2011, 05:47:08 am
Opposed twin didn't make the list, I see...  :P

I wouldn't turn my nose up at a transverse V Guzzi-style, but what I'd really like is a big bore sloper single like the Panther.

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gashousegorilla

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Reply #27 on: January 31, 2011, 05:56:50 am
Oops!  I've had a few cocktails today ;)

Scott
I say we all go out and discuss this over cocktails :P
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Ducati Scotty

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Reply #28 on: January 31, 2011, 06:37:29 am
Brilliant!  Oh wait!  It's 1:30am by you.  Well, I'll just have one for you then ;)

Scott


ace.cafe

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Reply #29 on: January 31, 2011, 01:45:35 pm
I think if they plan to do a parallel twin, it should look like one of the RE older twins to maintain the "throwback to the heritage" kind of retro look.
That's what Triumph and Ducati and Guzzi all did too. It hearkens back to the memory of the old "glory days", so it makes sense.

It could look something like this Royal Enfield Interceptor


If they do a V-Twin, they should definitely avoid any temptation to do a chopper-esque cruiser. That would really be "me too" in a bad way, coming in at the very end of the over-done trend.
A V-Twin standard bike or sporty bike would be nice instead. All V-Twins don't have to be choppers or Harley clones. There's a variety of ways they could go with that. They could even go futher retro, and make something styled like the old KX1140 Royal Enfield V-Twin from the 1930s., and that would have RE heritage too.
That could satisfy the cravings of some people on the "Classic Bullet Forum" who want girder forks and hardtails and that "ancient look".

Like this maroon-colored Royal Enfield KX1140 here.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2011, 01:57:39 pm by ace.cafe »
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